I haven't watched much West Wing in a while, but I really liked him. He was one of those actors that I always liked to see pop up in movies. You knew you were geting a good performance. "Cop Land", "The Negotiator" and "The Rock" come to mind.

John Spencer was an incredible actor, and being a huge West Wing fan I'll miss him as well. In tribute to him I'll write the story that he told Josh Lyman at the end of the episode "Noel", to explain why helping Josh through his post-traumatic stress disorder was so important to him.

"A guy's walking down the street and he falls into a hole. The hole's so deep he can't get out. A doctor comes by. 'Doctor, I'm stuck in this hole, can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it in the hole and moves on. Then a priest walks by. 'Father, I'm stuck in this hole, can you help me out?' The priest writes down a prayer, throws it in the hole and moves on.

"Then a friend walks by. 'Joe, it's me, can you help me out?' And the guy jumps in the hole! Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both in here!' And his friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.'"

I guess they were prescient in the season premiere not to show Leo 3 years in the future. IF the handwriting wasn't on the wall already, it now should be a certainty that this is the West Wing's last season.I'll miss John. He was very entertaining on West Wing and L.A. Law.